Christopher Fuentes-Padilla
| Christopher Fuentes-Padilla | |
 | |
| Chair Libertarian Party of Queens County | |
| November 8, 2017—?????, 2019 | |
| Predecessor: | Elliot Axelman |
| Successor: | Kenneth Mulvena |
| Representative from Queens County Libertarian Party of New York | |
| April 17, 2017—November 6, 2017 | |
| Predecessor: | Elliot Axelman |
| Successor: | Kenneth Lee |
| Vice Chair Libertarian Party of Queens County | |
| March 28, 2017—November 6, 2017 | |
| Predecessor: | Position Established |
| Successor: | Usman Ali Chohan |
| Personal Details | |
| Birth: | June 20, 1997 (20) Elmhurst, New York |
| Residence: | Oakland Gardens, New York |
| Party: | Democratic Party |
Christopher Robbin Fuentes-Padilla, better known as Christopher Padilla was the Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Queens County from 2017 to 2019.
Prior to his current position, he served as the Vice Chairman, until the change of leadership that followed the resignation of Elliot Axelman. He also served as the Representative from Queens to the Libertarian Party of New York's State Committee, becoming the first Representative from Queens younger than 25.
Padilla is the first hispanic or latino to serve as Chair of the LP in Queens and is also the first Eagle Scout to serve as a officer of the Libertarian Party in the City of New York. He is also the youngest County Chairman to date in the State of New York from any political party.
General Information
Christopher R. Fuentes-Padilla (b. 1997) is a life-long New Yorker, avid community activist in Oakland Gardens, NY and Eagle Scout from Bayside's Boy Scout Troop 142 in Queens.
Padilla is best known in the party for his Practical Leadership Theory and his bi-partisan analysis of city politics. He also co-founded the Libertarian Party of Queens County alongside Elliot Axelman, Larry Sharpe, Alex Merced and Usman Ali Chohan.
Prior to political service, Padilla served as the "Chapter Chief" of Matinecock Chapter in Kintecoying Lodge. The chapter serves as the local organizational structure for the Order of the Arrow, which is the National scouting program's Honor Society.
The Matinecock Chapter serves the Greater New York Councils' "Founders District" which encompasses a large majority of the 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th and 40th New York State Assembly Districts and their chartered scout units within the geographical areas that exist there.
Prior to serving in the Chapter, he served as the "Vice Chief of Administration", a citywide elected position in the Order. He was also appointed "President" of the Councils' Venturing Officers Association in August 2017. His term ends June 19, 2018 as he will be 21 years of age, making him ineligible to serve as a youth officer.
Student Life
While at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, Padilla was not an avid student. Known widely as a "cutter" he adapted to various versions of school security policies while conducting various exploits inside and out of the school's property. In an interview, while discussing NYC Schools, he attributed his behaviors to "the rebellious time in his life" and the "overwhelming feeling that youth were being pushed to go to college with no hands on training". While at Cardozo he met Usman Ali Chohan and Fred Nezami, both of whom would later become Libertarian party officials alongside him.
Following 2014's school year, Padilla was briefly diagnosed with school-based anxiety and depression. He dropped out in 2015, seeking a career as a Dispatcher with SeniorCare EMS in the Bronx. He simultaneously pursued a Emergency Medical Technician certification, to no success, at Northwell Health's Emergency Medical Institute in Nassau County, NY. He also joined Civil Air Patrol. There he would meet, his later selection for Deputy State Representative and his subsequent replacement on the LPNY State Committee, Kenneth Lee.
Beginning in 2016, Padilla was met with troubles in his career searches without a New York State HSE/TASC diploma. He sought studies in various locations from the NYC Department of Education's Office of Adult Education (OACE) to CUNY LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City, NY. All attempts failed him.
In January 2017, he will begin a program in Long Island Business Institute's School of Public Safety / Homeland Security / Security Management studies to work on gaining his HSE and an Associate's Degree in Homeland Security Management at once.
Careers
While working at SeniorCare EMS, he met fellow employee and State certified Paramedic Elliot Axelman who would later recruit him as the Vice Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Queens County in early 2017. Axelman and Padilla would later go on to consult with Usman Ali Chohan for his 2016 run against Nily Rozic and Alex Merced's run for United States Senate against Charles Schumer.
On November 9, 2016 SeniorCare EMS would go on to dismiss Padilla for "Excessive Absences" and various "Poor Evaluations". He filed for unemployment but never received a check before he was employed by Department of Services: NYC. The organization would go on to name him it's Chief Operations Officer and 1st Vice President before converting to a non-profit organization in March 2017. Padilla currently still serves in the position.
Political Views
He is considered to be a major critic of the Career Politicians in the City of New York and the State. His main political stance revolves around the idea of a "new generation of politicians" in government. Primarily based off of his "Our Future Initiative" that supports the victory of young, brand new politicians over sitting incumbents in the State of New York.
Libertarian Party of Queens County
In November 2017, Elliot Axelman resigned as Chairman following his move to New Hampshire which made him unable to perform the duties of his office. As Vice Chair, Padilla was next in line of succession to the Chairmanship. He was installed as Chairman on November 8, 2017 in a private ceremony alongside Usman Ali Chohan, his selection for Vice Chairman.
Personal Life
Home Life
Mr. Fuentes-Padilla is the product of a Single Mother's Household. His mother, Carol, works as an employee at the United Nations, a job she has held for over 13 years. He holds a deep sense of respect for Single Mothers, partly due to his upbringing.
Mental Illness and Awareness
Christopher is diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder and is very public about the contributions that Psychologists can make towards their patient's successful lives. He credits Scouting and his Civil Air Patrol Career for maintaining discipline in his upbringing. He actively recruits and supports young men and women into his activities who have similar issues in hopes to "bring about the same change in them as my family made in me".
Future Career Hopes
Christopher has been heard, on multiple occasions, stating that he hopes to serve as a City Agency Commissioner or a Federal Department Secretary.
Volunteer Service Record
Throughout his entire life, Padilla has been in community service. Beginning in the 2nd grade, he was recruited into the Boy Scouts of America's Bayside Pack 142. From there he would go on to join Troop 142, Troop 1 and Venturing Crew 199. Padilla was then elected to the Order of the Arrow in 2014 by his peers in Troop 142.
Padilla then gained the rank of "Eagle Scout" in August 2015. Although he was not formally promoted to the rank until June 2016, he remained a member of the Troop. He credits the late promotion ceremony to "in-troop politics" and "organizational disruption" in 142's leadership. Following his promotion, he began serving as the Assistant Scoutmaster for Troop 199. He still currently serves 199's scouts and scoutmaster since then.
Collectively, Mr. Fuentes-Padilla has a recorded 2,000 service hours in the communities of Bayside, Oakland Gardens, Flushing, Little Neck and other parts of northeast queens.
Order of the Arrow Membership
| Christopher Robbin Fuentes-Padilla | |
| Chapter Assistance Committee Chairman Order of the Arrow, BSA | |
| July 1, 2017—Present | |
| Predecessor: | Kevin Karlson |
| Successor: | Incumbent |
| Chapter Chief Order of the Arrow, BSA | |
| July 1, 2016—June 30, 2017 | |
| Predecessor: | Charles Lo |
| Successor: | Justin Lau |
| Lodge Vice Chief of Administration Order of the Arrow, BSA | |
| July 1st, 2015—June 30, 2016 | |
| Predecessor: | Kevin Karlson |
| Successor: | Jude Walter |
| Personal Details | |
Initial Membership
In May 2014, Christopher attended the Annual Inductions Weekend of Kintecoying Lodge, the city's local echelon of the Order of the Arrow, the American Scouting Program's National Honor Society. He completed his Ordeal Membership that weekend.
Committee Chairmanship
Membership Committee Chairman (July 2014 - June 2015)
Christopher was then appointed by the Lodge Chief, the highest-ranking youth member of the lodge, to serve as Membership Committee Chairman, for the 2014 - 2015 scouting year. He was the first in the history of the lodge to serve as a committee chairman without prior skills or experience on the borough chapter level. Each Lodge Committee is led by a member of the lodge who is under 21 years of age and supervised by the adult adviser to ensure the legality and fairness of their actions.
As the year went on, Christopher was charged with Recruitment Processing and Retention of youth and adult membership in the lodge and was charged with the lodge's extended elangomat training program, a program designed to ensure retention through constant contact between the trainers (Named Elangomats) assigned to the new recruits (Ordeal Members).
Christopher decided to run during the citywide lodge officer elections in May 2015, for Vice Chief of Administration (the third highest office in the city for a youth member).
Health and Safety Team Leader (May Inductions Weekend 2014)
He attended the May Inductions Weekend, originally to serve as the Health and Safety Team Leader for the event. He was awarded the membership level of Brotherhood that weekend. He also ran for office on the Sunday of the weekend, as was the norm for the Annual May Induction.
Health and Safety Team Leader (May Inductions Weekend 2015 and 2016)
Christopher was appointed as the Health and Safety Team Leader, for the second time, in August 2015. He held a zero reported injury rate and zero "close call" rate for the entire weekend. He was highly regarded as the potential permanent safety team leader for the lodge's events for the entire year. That decision was unofficially made and he continuously served as Health and Safety Team Leader for all but one event that year, National Leadership Seminar, which was hosted at a council camp and was an Order of the Arrow event but, by mandate, staffed by the Region Chief (the highest youth member of the BSA's Region).
Event Chairman (April Inductions Weekend 2016)
Christopher was also appointed to the position of Event Chairman of the April Inductions Weekend. During such time, he managed a staff of about 26 youth staffers and 20 adult volunteers to run an Ordeal and Brotherhood Ceremony for those who were candidates for those levels of membership. He also was charged with staffing the Support Section of the Health and Safety Team and the General Support and Logistics Staff for the entire event.
He served alongside Jude Walter, the Brooklyn Chapter Vice Chief of Administration, as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively. In May 2016, Jude Walter would go on to challenge him in the nomination phase and general election of 2016 - 2017's Lodge Officer Elections.
Jude Walter would win the General Election for Lodge Vice Chief of Administration, leaving Christopher to run unopposed in the Lodge Secretary portion of the General Election Phase.
Elected Lodge Office
Lodge Vice Chief of Administration (July 2015 - June 2016)
Christopher was elected to a Citywide Scouting Office in 2015, serving the Lodge in the City as their Vice Chief of Administration. Following his speech, that year, he garnered all but half of one Chapter-Borough of the City’s Lodge.
Staten Island’s Pro-Conservative Members of the Chapter in the Scouting Program were the split vote. Of the six chapters, he won BOTH Queens Chapters (East and West), Manhattan, Bronx, and Brooklyn as well as half of the Staten Island vote.
2016 - 2017 Lodge Officer Elections
Lodge Secretary-Elect (May 2016 - July 2016)
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Christopher decided to run for re-election to Vice Chief of Administration for Kintecoying Lodge. He came 1 vote close to losing the nomination phase of the election. And subsequently lost the General Election to Brooklyn Chapter Vice Chief of Administration Jude Walter. Mr. Walter was the third nominee from the Brooklyn Chapter to run for citywide lodge office and was a good friend of the new Lodge Chief and former Brooklyn Chapter Chief, Kirwin Seger.
Christopher was elected to Lodge Secretary in 2016, but, chose to decline the position on the Citywide Level to serve as the eastern Queens Chapter's Chief.
The election resulted in the Brooklyn Chapter taking the positions of Lodge Chief, Vice Chief of Administration and Treasurer. Mr. Fuentes-Padilla, if he would have stayed in office, would be in the minority of the Officer Team and the Lodge's Executive Committee (LEC), being the only citywide scouting officer from queens and the first to have been dropped from a higher citywide position via the nomination phase.
The other minority chapter youth member on the committee is the former Staten Island Chapter Chief, Michael Sorensen, who was featured on the Spectrum News (New York 1)'s Scholar Athlete for March 2017.
Michael Sorensen was elected the Vice Chief of Inductions (The Second Highest Officer in the City) for 2016 - 2017's scouting year. Michael Sorensen is also an Eagle Scout and holds the Vigil Honor, the highest level of membership in the Order, since 2016's May Inductions Weekend.
Chapter Elected Office
Chapter Chief (July 2016 - June 2017)
In June 2016, he was nominated and ran unopposed for the Eastern Queens (Matinecock) Chapter Chief election. He subsequently resigned from Lodge Secretary and began his term on July 1st of 2016. His term is set to end June 30th of 2017.
Potential Leadership Offices or Appointments
2017 - 2018 Chapter Officer Elections
He is said, even though it is expected he’d run unopposed, to not be considering a run for re-election to Chapter Chief in June 2017. Instead, he is the hopeful appointee for the citywide position of Lodge Awards and Honors Chairman in 2018's Lodge Officer Cabinet and Administration.
2017 - 2018 Lodge Officer Elections
In March 2017, during the Lodge Executive Committee Meeting, he was overheard by an unknown source stating he'd be considering a run for Lodge Chief, but, the LEC would have to approve an exemption for him to run, due to a by-law that mandates the Chief "must be 21 during the entire term of office to run" in the election. He turns 21 years of age June 20th of 2018, the lodge and chapter officership terms end June 30th of every year.
2017 - 2018 Lodge Officer Cabinet and Administration
Otherwise, he is considered to be the hopeful appointee for many Lodge Committees and Event Chairmanships, including:
- Lodge Membership Committee
- Lodge Awards and Honors Committee
- Lodge Communications Committee
- Lodge National Events Committee
- Lodge Chapter Assistance Committee
- April Ordeal Event Chairman
- May Ordeal Event Chairman
2017 Section NE-2B Conclave Appointments
Health and Safety Team Leader
Christopher was handpicked, for the first time, to serve on the Section Conclave Staff. He has never served, prior to 2017's Section NE-2B Conclave, on the staff of any higher Order of the Arrow echelon's event or standing committee staff. He has also never attended a Section Conclave in the entirety of his time in the Order of the Arrow.
2017 - 2018 Lodge Executive Committee Appointments
Chairman, Chapter Assistance Committee
On June 23rd, 2017 Lodge Chief-elect Trevor W. Camacho appointed Fuentes-Padilla to the post of Chapter Assistance Committee Chairman. On June 26, 2017 Christopher Fuentes-Padilla accepted the appointment. He began serving as Chairman of the Chapter Assistance Committee on July 1st, 2017. The Chapter Assistance Committee is charged with standardization and evaluation of the chapters within Kintecoying Lodge and helping to manage their programming as well as ensuring their interests are represented by independent parties.
Vice Chair (Health and Safety), September Inductions Weekend Committee
On July 12, 2017 Lodge Chief Trevor W. Camacho appointed Fuentes-Padilla as the Vice Chair of Health and Safety for the September Inductions Weekend Committee.
Volunteer Public Safety
Christopher Fuentes-Padilla served as a Volunteer Ambulance Attendant with Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Jamaica Estates Volunteer Ambulance Corps and Litlle Neck - Douglaston Community Ambulance Corps of the course of 4 years. He stopped serving in Volunteer EMS in January 2017, while still serving under the leadership of Little Neck - Douglaston Community Ambulance Corps.
He is the current Vice President of Operations and concurrently serving as Chief of Operational Services at Department of Services: NYC a non-profit he helped create as Co-Founder with Michael J. Caruso and Usman Ali Chohan.
Political Life
Mr. Fuentes-Padilla is considered a semi-feminist and a Democratic-libertarian (Also commonly referred to as a Bleeding Heart Libertarian). He believes that men are equally as important to the Feminist movement as women.
He frequently claims that "Men can help the movement in many ways. A Man can show up to a march and simply chant with them to show his support and it'll catch the eyes of hundreds. But, If 100 or even 200 men show up and do the same, it will catch the eyes of millions. The idea that men can't help the movement because they are men is ridiculous. Feminist leadership should take advantage of every man that wants to help them."
Fuentes-Padilla is also a supporter of equal pay for equal level of service (EX: If a man works 14 hours straight and all of his tasks are completed and a woman works 10 hours straight and she still has four tasks incomplete, she doesn't get equal pay for the amount of service completed doesn't match the pay demanded. And Vice-Versa.)
He is a major fan of the plans and feminist ideology of English Actress Emma Watson and her U.N. sponsored campaign to get people involved in the fight for equality in the workplace and other issues. According to his Facebook page, "Emma Watson is the most entertaining actress of our time. But, is by far the most influential in the fight for women's equality in the world theater. She should be leading our feminist marches and events and maybe even the entire movement."
Campaign Experience
He has worked on three campaigns to date, Usman Ali Chohan in 2016, who ran for New York State Assembly in District 25, against the Democratic Party Incumbent Nily Rozic. He was the Deputy Chief of Staff for that campaign, while simultaneously serving as the Canvassing Supervisor for the Entire District and the Precinct Captain of the Bayside Hills Area.
He also worked in the Mark Cipolla Campaign for New York State Senate, against the incumbent Tony Avella. He was an On-Call Canvasser for the Campaign, due to his busy schedule working for the Usman Ali Chohan Assembly race.
As of 2017, he was the Campaign Manager for Usman Ali Chohan's New York City Council Race, which was publicly canceled due to the Candidate's Financial Issues on April 17, 2017. The intended opponent was Rory I. Lancman (D), the New York City Councilman from the 24th District.
Party Affiliations
Upon turning 18 years of age in 2015, he was registered as a Republican in Queens County, NY. He attributed this as an attempt at a power grab in the party to change the platform to better represent the people. In January 2017, He launched a run for Republican District Leader in the 25th Assembly District of Queens, NY. He dropped the candidacy citing that he "No longer had trust in the County GOP Leadership".
As of April 2017, Christopher R. Fuentes-Padilla is a registered Democrat in the 25th Assembly District of Queens, NY. He stated that the change was what "he should have done in the first place in 2015." and that he would be considering a run in the Democratic Primary against the party's incumbent Assemblymember Nily Rozic[1]
In May 2017, he confirmed he would be running in the primary for Assembly District 25 against the incumbent Nily Rozic.
Political Positions/Experience
The below is all the political positions that Christopher R. Fuentes-Padilla has held or been considered for:
| Campaign / Organization | Position | Party | Election Year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Usman Ali 4 Us (NYS Assembly) | Deputy Chief of Staff | Republican | 2016 | LOSS |
| Mark Cipolla for NYS Senate | Canvasser | Republican | 2016 | LOSS |
| Usman Ali 4 NYC Council | Campaign Manager | Fusion Ballot (D/R/LP) | 2017 | N/A (Candidate Renounced his run due to Financial Reasons) |
| Chris Padilla 4 Us | Candidate for District Leader | Republican | 2017 | Renounced Candidacy citing distrust in the County Leadership |
| Chris Padilla 4 Us | Candidate for Queens Borough President | Republican | 2017 | Renounced his Candidacy, Cited Political Inequality in NYC Politics for a GOP Candidate to win. |
| Libertarian Party of Queens County | Vice Chairman | Libertarian | 2017 - 2018 | Incumbent |
| Christopher Padilla 4 NYS Assembly | Candidate for NYS Assembly | Fusion Ballot (D/R/WF/LP) | 2018 | N/A |